Sora Sweet Reads!

Sora, an app that's available through your Google account, has lots of books ready for spring and summer reading! There's a list of "Sora Sweet Reads" which are ebooks and audiobooks that are always available-- no waiting! And then there are thousands more that you can borrow with your PSBMA account. Very easy to use! 

Go to your "waffle" in PSBMA.

Scroll down to the end and look for "Sora" 

The first time you login you will need to tell Sora which school district you're from: "Brookline Public Schools". After that first log in, it will remember who you are! 

Please let Ms. Moriarty know if you're having trouble logging in. kathleen_moriarty@psbma.org

Author visit + book suggestions

Sarah Lynne Reul visited Lawrence K -2 students today on Zoom! Here's her website for more information. We learned about how an author and illustrator creates a book and played a storytelling game in which each class got to contribue to the story. 

Poisoned Water by Candy J. Cooper and Marc Aronson

Through interviews with residents and intensive research into legal records and news accounts, journalist Candy J. Cooper, assisted by writer-editor Marc Aronson, reveals the true story of Flint. Poisoned Water shows not just how the crisis unfolded in 2014, but also the history of racism and segregation that led up to it, the beliefs and attitudes that fueled it, and how the people of Flint fought―and are still fighting―for clean water and healthy lives. Amazing nonfiction for middle schoolers. 

The Lion of Mars by Jennifer Holm

Bell has spent his whole life - all eleven years of it - on Mars. But he's still just a regular kid - he loves cats, any kind of cake, and is curious about the secrets the adults in the US colony are keeping. Like, why don't have contact with anyone on the other Mars colonies? Why are they so isolated? When a virus breaks out and the grown-ups all fall ill, Bell and the other children are the only ones who can help. It's up to Bell - a regular kid in a very different world - to uncover the truth and save his family ... and possibly unite an entire planet.

Author visit + Poem in Your Pocket Day!

 The week after vacation is a busy one! 

Author visit! 

Grades K - 2 will have a Zoom visit on Tuesday, April 27th with Sarah Lynne Reul, author of Allie All Along and The Breaking News among other books. Thanks to the PTO, the classrooms will also be getting a few of Ms. Reul's books for students to enjoy before and after the visit.  Read more about this author and illustrator on her website. 

Poem in Your Pocket Day

Students will learn about and celebrate Poem in Your Poeket Day on Thursday, April 29. Here's some more information about this national celebration of poetry. 

Book bundles for vacation!

The Brookline Public Libraries will be offering book bundles again for April vacation! Yay! Stop by the week of April 12 and ask for a Teen or Tween bundle, a Picture book or an Early Reader bundle. Prepare to be surprised by the books you will receive! 

More information can be found at brooklinelibrary.org

Cook Prize + book suggestions

Cook Prize for Nonfiction: Students in grades 2 & 3 can vote for their favorite of four nonfiction books by going to the district's library webpage and choosing "grades 3 -5". Under "Cook Prize: Your Place in the Universe" you will find the link to submit your vote! A video is provided for each of the books in case you missed any of them. 

Book Suggestions:

Red, White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca 

Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she’s the only Indian American student, and home, with her family’s traditions and holidays. But Reha’s parents don’t understand why she’s conflicted—they only notice when Reha doesn’t meet their strict expectations. Reha feels disconnected from her mother, or Amma, although their names are linked—Reha means “star” and Punam means “moon”—but they are a universe apart. This novel in verse will keep you turning pages! 

Clockwork Crow by Catherine Fisher

Orphan Seren Rhys is on her way to a new life at the remote country mansion of Plas-y Fran when she is given a package by a stranger late at night in an empty train station. The package contains a crotchety, mechanical talking crow, which Seren reluctantly brings to her new home. But when she gets there, the happy Christmas she had hoped for turns out to be an illusion—the young son of the house, Tomos, has been missing for almost a year, rumored to have been taken by the fairies. With the Crow’s reluctant help and a little winter magic, Seren sets off on a perilous journey to bring Tomos home.